Julian Solway, MD

Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor for Medicine and Pediatrics

Director, Institute for Translational Medicine

Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine

Chair, Committee on Molecular Medicine

Julian Solway, MD, is an expert in pulmonary medicine with a particular interest in the management of severe and persistent asthma. Under his leadership, researchers, scientists and clinicians work to understand the causes of disease and to bring new therapies to the public.

Dr. Solway's research focuses on the structure and function of smooth muscle, the tissue that encircles the bronchial tubes. When irritated, smooth muscle contracts, narrowing these air passages and making it hard to breathe. By studying this process, Dr. Solway hopes to find more effective treatments for asthma. His work has been extensively funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Solway trains medical, graduate, and postdoctoral students in the study respiratory biology. He is also a prolific scholar, having authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, as well as numerous chapters in leading textbooks on lung biology, asthma, and pulmonary pharmacology.

Committed to increasing public understanding of asthma, Dr. Solway established the University of Chicago's Asthma Center in 2001. His contributions to the scientific understanding of asthma were recognized by a prestigious award from the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. Read the news release.